Peter Titherington Gersttechnik

Feldstrasse 23
46286 Dorsten Rhade
Germany
Tel:
+49 2866 187 367
Fax:
+49 2866 187 368
E-mail: Peter.titherington@gmx.de
Web:
www.system-scaffolds.com

The Economics of a Modern Scaffold System

Most major oil companies in the United States and Canada have a System Scaffold
Utilisation Quota that must be adhered to when maintenance scaffolding contracts are drawn
up.
The System Scaffiold Utilisation Quota can be between 100% of all scaffolds erected at a
plant in parts of the United States and 90% in the oil production and refining areas of Eastern
and Western Canada.
This basically means that award of any maintenance contracts are conditional that no more
than 10 % of all scaffold being erected shall be tube and clip scaffold.
The reason for the move away from tube and clip scaffold in the major oil refineries around
the world is a recognition of the benefits of system scaffold over tube and clip scaffolds in
demanding environments:-

Speed
It is generally accepted that in the time it takes to build a simple tower out of tube and clip scaffold an
experienced team will build three towers of similar design using system scaffold.
This general equation can be applied to most types of scaffold, whether they be independants or
towers.
For more complicated designs the benefits are more impressive. A simple cantilever can be assembled
with system scaffold from within the scaffold and behind guard rails in a matter of minutes. Safely
and effectively and with total confidence in the capacity of the structure.
Compare this with tube and clip scaffold where cantilevers must be built using swivel couplers (which
have a lower load capacity than rigid couplers) and very often from outside the safety area of the
scaffold.
The benefits of speed of erection are particularly clear when you have more than one trade working
from the scaffold. Access to various areas of the job site will be different depending on the work that
needs to be carried out. A system which allows a scaffold not only to be erected quickly but also to be
quickly adapted for individual trades means less downtime, more productivity, faster hand.over times
and more profit.
People cant work without access and if people are waiting for a scaffold to be altered this is costing
money.

Skill Level
The level of skill required to erect a tube and clip scaffold is significantly higher than that required to
erect a modular system scaffold.
When using tube and clip material a scaffolder is required to have an understanding not only of the
load capacity of individual fittings which are often from a variety of suppliers and are often not
subject to quality controls but he must also have a general understanding of engineering principals,
most specifically statics.
Because the modular system wedge connection is engineered at the factory the scaffolder can have
absolute confidence that the load capacity given is specific to the component he is using.
The pre-fabricated nature of the system eliminates the need for on site engineering decisions. The lift
height is 2.00 m meaning the maximum leg load is always applied to a 2.00 m buckling length.
Compare this to a tube and clip standard where lift heights (and therefore buckling lengths) are not
fixed and can be up to 3,50 m.
Cantilevers are a similar problem. A skilled scaffolder will know that a tube will carry more in tension
that it will in compression. A non-skilled scaffolder will often think nothing of supporting a cantilever
with a 6.00 m length of tube in compression clearly overloading the tube in compression.
The fixed bay nature of system scaffolds eliminate such problems. Diagonals are manufactured for a
fixed height and length and the load capacity in tension and compression is clearly listed for each
diagonal.

Engineering
All engineering design work is based on the information obtained by extensive testing in the United
Kingdom and the United States. Constant production supervision and regular in-house testing ensures
that the capacities listed remain reliable.
The pre-sent dimensions of the components mean that they can only be used for the purpose intended.
This narrows down the risk of overloading on components to an absolute minium.
Compare this to tube and clip scaffold.
Do you know where your tube and clip material originated from?
Are you confident that the load capacity you are working to is reliable?
Do you know the tensile strength, yield strength and wall thickness of all of your tube?
If you can answer no to one or more of the above questions then you may be risking a serious incident
on your construction site.

Confidence
The choice of scaffolding used to construct and maintain an installation can seriously effect the life
expectancy and efficiency of the finished installation. The tradespeople who will be building the
installation will work better if they have confidence in the structure they are being asked to work from.
An unstable or unsafe structure will have a negative effect on the quality of the work bing carried out
from the scaffold. Tradesmen will not want to spend any more time than absolutely necessary on a
scaffold they are unsure of. Work will be done less carefully than would be the case on a solid
structure. If work on the construction of the plant is not carried out correctly this will lead to failure of
possibly vital components once the plant is in service and downtime costs not only money but can also
harm your chances of securing orders for similar projects in the future.

A safe and properly erected scaffold enables all trades to work with confidence and deliver quality
results.

Safety
If you think quality is expensive, try a failure
The GSD Ringlock system scaffold is the safest modular system on the market today:Connecting rings at 50 cm intervals on all standards offer footholds when system is being built as a
suspended scaffold.
Scaffolders can hook up to rosettes at 50 cm intervals along the height of the standard,
Wedge and rosette connection is immediately secure as soon as the wedge is positioned through the
rosette. There are no live connections waiting for a cup to lock the ledgers in.
Diagonals allow cantilevers to be built from insie the safe area of a scaffold ie/ behind a guard rail.
Components are manufacture from uniform material 48,3 mm dia tube with 3,2 mm wall thickness
and increased tensile and yield strengths. This makes engineering data reliable.

Economy
Modular system scaffolds have a life expectancy of up to 25 years. The connections on the horizontals
are welded to the tube. Wedges can easily be replaced should they become bent or damaged. Standards
are at comfortable lengths for storage and transport.
All this means that your investment in system scaffolds will pay dividends for years to come.
Compared this with tube and clip scaffold material;

Tube will be cut down to suit until you have far too many short pieces of scaffold tube that
you cant properly utilise.

Scaffold fittings will be dropped by mistake, lost in soil or sand on the construction site or
simply misplaced.

Scaffold boards will be cut to suit and can be thrown away once the job for which they have
been cut is complete.

The result is that although you may have saved 50% on your initial outlay, you will need to replace 15
20 % of the material every year due to wastage. In three years time the saving in the initial outlay
has been eaten up.
And should you not need the material on three years time you will always be able to sell on a system
scaffold at a sizeable portion of the original purchase price, either to the people responsible for the
maintenance of the plant, or to alternative scaffold company.

Example

Initial Purchase price

Tube and Clip

Modular System

US$ 50,000

US$ 100,000

Replacement per annum

US$ 7,500.00

US$ 00.00

Residual value after

5 years

US$10,000.00

US$ 30,000.00

Total Cost over 5 yrs

US$ 77,500.00

US$ 70,000.00

For each year after a the five shown above the tube and clip scaffold will cost US$ 7,500 whereas the
modular system scaffold will perform for an additional 15 years.
Total lifetime saving

US$ 112,500.00

The above figures make no consideration for savings in labour costs already listed. For an equal
amount of scaffolding you will need to employ three times the number of scaffolders for tube and clip
compared to those needed to erect the modular system.
Based on an hourly rate of US$ 10.00 per hour and labour rates of 10 m2 per manhour for system
scaffold compared to 3 m2 per manhour for tube and clip the following equation should be
considered:Tube and clip

Modular system

Labour rate erect

3 m2/ Manhour

10 m2/Manhour

Labour Rate dismantle

6 m2/ Manhour

20 m2/Manhour

Hours per man per year

1920 Hrs

Volume System erected and dismantled

In 12 month period (One person)
12,800 m2
ie/ two thirds of time to erect, one third of time to dismantle.
Cost per annum (Wages)

US$ 19,200.00

Time needed to erect 12,800 m2 of tube

and clip scaffold

6,400 Hrs

Cost per annum

US$ 64,000.00

Productivity Saving using System Scaffold

US$ 44,800.00

The above figures have used a single scaffolder to model the example.
Total saving when using 40 scaffolders for example would be US$ 1,8 million per annum on reduced
labour costs (assuming US$ 10 per hour, 40 hours per week, 48 weeks per year).
The labour rates are based on 1/3 time to erect scaffold and 2/3 for both system and tube and clip.

Peter Titherington
22.09.05